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LEWISTON, Maine — Army and Navy recruiters took one look at 330-pound Ulysses Milana and told him to forget about joining. "You've got to lose weight," Milana remembers them saying. But Marine recruiters were willing to work with him as he began his weight-loss journey in December 2007. Now, 11 months later, Milana is 140 pounds lighter as he leaves Monday for Parris Island, S.C., to begin boot camp.

Women who want to lose weight - and keep it off - need to be exercising for almost an hour, five days a week, according to US experts. The University of Pittsburgh study found the 55-minute regime was the minimum needed to maintain a 10% drop in weight. Only a quarter of the 200 women in the study managed to lose this amount. A UK expert said it was clear that regular moderate exercise was the way to lose weight, and keep it off. Approximately two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese, with some estimates suggesting this...

WASHINGTON: A new study has found that lesbians are nearly twice as likely to be overweight than heterosexual women. Researchers at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing are now using an extraordinarily successful, predominately lesbian weight loss group in Atlanta, as a model system for discovering how to target obesity in a lesbian population. Sarah Fogel, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor of Nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, is studying the group, and her findings are giving her a different view on weight loss. "All weight loss groups offer an environment of like-bodied people (overweight or obese), but this is...

It’s not likely dieticians will be endorsing his regimen, but a Virginia man demonstrated it is possible to regularly dine at a fast-food restaurant without being criticized for signing your own death certificate. Despite media attacks on fast-food for being unhealthy, ABC’s “Good Morning America” showed that healthier options are available without heavy-handed involvement from government in its June 19 broadcast. “Meet Chris Coleson – for years the Virginia man said he was eating too much and, of course, no diet seemed to work,” co-host Diane Sawyer said. “Then last December, he tipped the scales at 278 pounds and made...

I Read a story in the Washington Post about the death of a young woman. This ultra-huge died in her sleep. Her mom blamed it on obesity. Possibly so ... her mom is obese herself. In the story the mom bemoans the lack of "affordable" weight loss clinics and exercise facilities. Oh boy ... here we go. As we know, in the modern USA every single item or service that a person could possibly need or even want must be affordable. The new mantra is that there is something wrong with our country, our economy and our government if someone...

In India the LAP-BAND System has been proven the safest, simplest and effective way to treat severe obesity. If you are seriously overweight, the LAP-BAND System can help you achieve a happier, healthier life! In India the Lap-Band system is the least invasive of all weight loss surgeries. The system includes an adjustable silicon elastic band that is surgically placed around the stomach. The band induces weight loss by restricting food intake; when eating less, your body draws from its own fat to get the energy it needs. The Lap-Band is the only adjustable weight loss surgery; in fact, band...

Swedish opera star Tito Beltran has lashed out at his adoptive country ahead of his forthcoming rape trial, describing the country as "worse than Chile during the dictatorship". Believing himself to be the victim of ethnic discrimination, the popular tenor has vowed to burn his Swedish passport after the trial. "Swedes are as racist as they come," Beltran told Chilean newspaper Las Últimas Noticias. "This country doesn't tolerate 'blackheads' [svartskallar], of which I am one," he added. Beltran, 42, is accused of raping an 18-year-old nanny at a hotel in Nötesjö in Skåne following his participation in a Rhapsody in...

Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss—and the Myths and Realities of Dieting, by Gina Kolata, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 257 pages, $24 Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, by Brian Wansink, New York: Bantam Books, 276 pages, $25 Gina Kolata says losing weight is nearly impossible. Brian Wansink says it’s easy. But they don’t really contradict each other, because they’re talking about different kinds of weight loss.Although their new books offer very different messages for dieters, Kolata and Wansink share a suspicion of collectivist responses to the “obesity epidemic.� Both writers are intensely...

Huckabee's Record: Freed a Rapist Who Became a Killer, Destroyed Gov't Hard Drives, Raised Taxes, Misappropriated Funds Extremist Religious Views Appeal to Christian Nationalists But Will Repel Normal Voters in the General Dems Should Pray He's on the Ticket Recent polls show that Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and Baptist preacher, is rising in popularity in Iowa, where he is cutting into Mitt Romney's lead. (Romney has 28 percent, Huckabee has 24 percent in the ABC news survey; Romney is at 27 percent and Huckabee's at 18 percent in the local KCCI-TV poll.) He's also moving up in...

Portland, Maine (AP) -- Maine researcher says standing on a vibrating platform for 15 minutes a day could help people achieve washboard abs. Clifford Rosen from The Jackson Laboratory and Maine Medical Center Research Institute says his study put mice on a vibrating platform for 15 minutes a day for 15 weeks.

Obesity is more dangerous than smoking and will dramatically shorten the lives of millions, a landmark study has found. While smoking reduces life by an average of ten years, the research says being seriously overweight can cut life expectancy by as much as 13 years. The Foresight report, written by 250 leading scientists, says Britain's obesity crisis is so severe that it would take at least 30 years to reverse. If current trends continue, by 2050 about 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and 25 per cent of children in the UK will be clinically obese...

As America gets fatter, policymakers are seeking creative approaches to legislating health. They may have entered the school cafeteria -- and now they're eyeing your neighborhood. Amid worries of an obesity epidemic and its related illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, Los Angeles officials, among others around the country, are proposing to limit new fast-food restaurants -- a tactic that could be called health zoning. The City Council will be asked this fall to consider an up to two-year moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in South L.A., a part of the city where fast food is at...

AN EPIDEMIC of obesity could have serious consequences for America's economy and its ability to defend itself, according to a leading politician. Self-confessed "recovering foodaholic" Mike Huckabee, a Republican Party presidential candidate, told a group of governors from the American South that the increasing numbers of people who were either over-weight or obese meant more and more people were having to take time off work for health reasons. And Mr Huckabee, who lost 110lb - nearly 8st - several years ago when he was governor of Arkansas, said he was concerned by reports that nearly two-thirds of American military personnel...

Every once in a while I run across a bit of information that sounds just too good to be true. When I heard that a group of researchers from Vanderbilt University’s Department of Medicine announced that laughing caused people to burn extra calories, I just had to investigate it. I wondered if there could be at least a kernel of truth in their study, which hinted that laughter might be a way to lose weight. After all, studies have shown that laughter, which has been said for years to be good medicine, can enhance the immune system, reduce stress, and...

A widely publicized non-prescription diet drug named alli, which is believed to cause weight loss by blocking fat absorption, finally hit the drugstores nationwide this weekend, according to an announcement made June 12 by GlaxoSmithKline, the marketer of the diet drug. Alli, made by Roche of 60 mg orlistat, the active chemical that has been used for years for a prescription version known as xenical, obtained FDA approval in the February of 2007 for marketing in the United States as an over-the counter weight loss drug . The drug is indicated for those who are overweight, but not obese adults...

Think work feels like a treadmill now? Try a new desk designed at the Mayo Clinic. They built what they called a "vertical workstation" -- a desk fitted over a standard treadmill. They persuaded 15 obese people to work at this treadmill-desk and measured how many calories they burned. If an overweight office worker used this vertical workstation all day, every day for a year, he or she could lose up to 66 pounds (30 kg), the researchers report in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. James Levine and Jennifer Miller measured how many calories their 15 volunteers burned using...

 "Cardio kills," says Jim Karas in his new book, "The Cardio-Free Diet." "Cardiovascular exercise kills a weight-loss plan, your internal organs, your immune system, your time and your motivation. If your true goal is to lose weight, interval strength training is the only way to go," says Karas, an ABC News correspondent, celebrity trainer and fitness expert.    When he first tried to lose weight as a 21-year-old, Karas found that he would work up an enormous appetite after running several miles. So while his cardiovascular health improved he still wasn't losing weight. The Program He grew more interested in strength...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Dirk Jackson says he weighed 450 pounds. His doctor does not know his exact weight because the scales in the clinic were not big enough to weigh him. But in January 2004, the North Richland Hills man made a New Year's resolution to lose weight through a disciplined regimen of diet and exercise. Since then, Jackson has lost 184 pounds. He's barely recognizable in photographs showing him wearing size 60 pants. He now wears size 38 pants and can bench press 450 pounds. He said he had always been overweight as an adult. Jackson's still a "big guy" largely because...

Looking to redeem itself after its fallout with pharmaceutical giant Merck, Nastech announced positive results Thursday for early phase trials of a nasal spray for the treatment of obesity. The spray, dubbed PPY (3-36) was well tolerated when given to a group of 24 obese patients during a testing for variables such as food intake and appetite. The study was intended to find the most effective dose of the drug for further trials. Nastech said that, when administered by IV, the PPY caused patients to reduce their calorie intake by 30 percent, which matches results from previous studies of PPY....

Many people worry about putting on a few pounds during the holiday season. But when you reach for a Christmas cookie, keep in mind that you're not the only one who's going to enjoy that tasty treat: It will also get eaten by the bacteria living in your gut. And it turns out that the kind of bacteria living there may affect how much weight you gain. Until a couple of years ago, scientists didn't have the tools to figure out exactly what lives in a person's digestive tract. But with new genetic probes, they can do a kind of...

Crash diets, plastic surgery, "miracle pills" and extreme workouts are the most common ways to shed off those extra pounds. However, a new fad is gaining popularity and due to its price and supposed success, it is sweeping the nation one ear at a time. Those who perform the acupuncture ear stapling procedure claim that by inserting a tiny, surgical staple into the ear, it will trigger certain pressure points that may curb appetites, reduce stress, relieve pain, and may even help one to quit smoking. "I must admit, I was a little skeptical at first considering all the gimmicks...

-County employees would participate in pilot program- Travis County's top officials may decide today to offer weight-loss surgery to county employees, a step that is unusual but becoming increasingly popular with local governments. Under the pilot program being considered, the county would pay for up to 15 bariatric surgeries — or trimmings of the digestive tract — per year. The program would last five years. Each procedure would cost the county $15,000 to $25,000, according to reports to the county commissioners, who will decide whether to adopt the program. Employees would have to meet requirements to be eligible, including a...

    Perfect Diet? Eat Everything Fat, Carbs, Protein Must Balance, Dietitian Says Shiloh Woolman, Staff Writer Put down the diet book that touts a carb-free, protein-rich diet and tells you all fat is your mortal enemy. Get ready to learn the mystery to permanent weight loss.  Eating everything is the magic bullet, experts say. Variety is the key to not only a good-looking exterior, but a healthy body that can fight disease, according to Ann C. Grandjean, director of Omaha's Center for Human Nutrition, Inc. Grandjean suggests three golden rules for eating: balance, variety and correct servings. Mindful...

(FOX NEWS) - Rabbi Marc Sack drank diet soft drinks, cycled about 70 miles a week, and limited sweets and he struggled with hunger, "a big issue for me was appetite control." But when the weight wasn't coming off, he saw a dietitian who told him to stop the diet soda. "that was a big surprise to me," said Sack. "I thought I was doing something great by only drinking diet coke, and she really caught me off guard with that one." Jennifer Broder Katz is Rabbi Sack's food coach. She says artificial sweeteners like those found in diet sodas...

NO VERBAL ATTACKS! NO NAME CALLING! NO BASHING! THE OVERWEIGHT! NO NASTY PICTURES POSTED! This will be a thread about getting healthy and no attacks will be tolerated. Any fitness or activity level. 100+ pounds to lose or no weight to lose. Those who have lost weight and kept it off, please share with us what has worked for you. Maybe you love a certain activity, biking, skiing, rock climbing, walking, running, whatever, tell us about how it helps you stay in shape. Share your weight loss success. Just a place to share ideas about all things exercise and diet...

A few of us were thinking of starting an on-going FReeper diet and fitness thread. It would be a place where we could discuss weight loss, diet, exercise, getting back in shape, encourage each other in our efforts to get healthy, and celebrate our successes. Any fitness or activity level. 100+ pounds to lose or no weight to lose. Those who have lost weight and kept it off, please share with us what has worked for you. Maybe you love a certain activity, biking, skiing, rock climbing, walking, running, whatever, tell us about how it helps you stay in shape....

I mentioned this superb list of rules/suggestions for fitness and weight loss in another thread, and my FReepmail box filled pretty quickly. :) To keep this brief: The Lovely Wife and I got into weight lifting (strength training) a few years ago, and one of the companies from whom we purchased sports supplememts (whey protein, etc.) issues a monthly email newsletter. This particular one I kept, because to my mind, it is the best......by FAR........encapsulation of the things we should all do to lose weight and keep fit. Anything and everything I have learned about fitness fit in these "rules"...

Losing a little weight can do wonders for your sex life. So says Duke University psychologist Martin Binks, who presented a study Monday at a meeting of The Obesity Society showing that shedding a few pounds can improve things in the bedroom by making people feel better about their bodies. "You reap a lot of benefit from a moderate weight loss of 10 percent," Binks said. "It's a wonderful message. You don't have to reach some ideal weight to be healthy and happy." It is one of the few studies to examine the mental and emotional problems that obesity can...

Maverick film-maker Michael Moore has enrolled on a crash course at a $3,800-a-week celebrity fat farm in a bid to loose weight. The Fahrenheit 9/11 director has booked into the Pritikin Longevity Center And Spa in Aventura, Florida, where he is learning to cook healthy meals and will undergo "life re-education", according to PageSix.com. Moore is reportedly aiming to loose 12 pounds during the first three weeks.

In their battle against the bulge, desperate dieters have tried drugs, surgery, exercise, counseling, creams and even electrical fat-burning belts. Now some psychologists have a new idea: Lying. A team led by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus of the University of California, Irvine, found that it could persuade people to avoid fattening foods by implanting an unpleasant childhood memory about the food -- even though the event never happened. In a paper published in today's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team said it successfully turned people off strawberry ice cream. In earlier studies, the team has...

Overweight people who are otherwise healthy may increase their risk of dying by intentionally losing weight, according to provocative new research.A study of 2,957 twins in Finland found that those who were overweight who lost weight on purpose were about 86 percent more likely to die for any reason over the next 18 years compared with those whose weight remained stable.The researchers cautioned, however, that only 268 people in the study died, a number too small to justify any firm recommendations about whether overweight people should try to lose weight.Skeptics who think health authorities have exaggerated the risks of being...

Man does not live on bread alone, but Americans have become increasingly reliant on doughy carbohydrates in their diet. Now many in a rapidly expanding country are asking: "What Would Jesus Eat?" That is the title of one of a growing number of Christian diet plans crowding the lifestyle shelves of mainstream bookshops. Other bestsellers include The Maker's Diet, The Hallelujah Diet and Body by God. For the persistently overweight, they hold the promise of spiritual and bodily redemption. The selling strategies vary. Stephen Arterburn, the host of a Christian radio show and author of Lose it For Life, says:...

Little Rock - "Quit Digging Your Grave With A Knife and Fork" In the words Governor Huckabee, that's the key to becoming healthy and the name of his new book. The book is not a guide on how to lose weight, it's advice on how to get healthy and for the Governor, it's the beginning of a new adventure. Friends of the Governor gathered at the mansion to celebrate the upcoming release of his new book. (Governor Mike Huckabee) "I think it does have an appeal. People say what? Quit digging your grave with a knife and fork? But really...

SLIMMER Vicki Jervis has celebrated losing seven stones by conquering her fears and taking to the skies. Mrs Jervis, 43, of Green Road, High Wycombe, has now reached her target weight of 9 stone 7lbs. To mark her achievement she took the plunge and flew in a fixed wing microlight plane despite having never previously flown in any type of aircraft. Mrs Jervis, who runs a Slimming World class in Hazlemere, said: "It was a bumpy flight with a lot of wind turbulence, but the views were spectacular. "I flew over the Wiltshire downs, where you can see the Isle...

Fat, But not an Actress Tomorrow is the big premier of Kirstie Alley's new show "Fat Actress." I'm excited because I too, am fat. But to clarify, I'm NOT an actress. However, I'm starting another "Big Diet" tomorrow, maybe even inspired by this show. It's one of many diets I've been on over the years. My last one was successful, having lost about 50 pounds in, oh, about 6 months. But alas, after a few years, back surgery, and a new boyfriend (who claims he loves "all" of me) I gained it all back. I consider him responsible for 99...

  Exercising, even moderately, can significantly reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition that increases heart disease and diabetes risk, among older adults, according to a study.The six-month study involved over 100 people between the ages of 55 and 75. Half were "prescribed" exercises ranging from weightlifting to walking, which were performed for one hour, three times a week. The other participants were given a booklet that encouraged increased activity to promote good health.Some 43 percent of participants had metabolic syndrome when the study began. At the end of six months, the following results were observed among the...

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian biotech group Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said on Monday a clinical trial showed its new weight-loss drug was effective and free of side effects, sending its shares soaring 28 percent. The drug, one of dozens that companies are developing to fight an obesity epidemic in the West, faces wider testing next year and is only expected to hit the market in 2008 at the earliest, but investors took Metabolic's shares up to a record A$2.50. The shares had eased back to A$2.16 by 10:43 p.m. EST -- still around double where they started the year. Metabolic said...

  Holiday weight loss? Here is a New Years Resolution, that you can Keep!!TAKE IT OFF.. TAKE IT ALL OFF!By, Carlo3bI can barely recall those carefree days when TAKE IT ALL OFF, had a much more appealing connotation. Today, taking it off, too often means shedding unwanted pounds. Now the dreaded Happy Holidays feasts only add to the burdens, more of a OH NO, than a HO HO! Today, I am making a New Years Resolution that can actually come true, not just for me, but for you too.  How about this; TAKE IT OFF.. AND KEEP IT OFF!Many of...

I have been doing an Atkins-ish diet for 2 years now. I was an obese 26 year old at 240 pounds and I am now a more respectable 28 year old at 165 pounds. I have not been able to move off induction phase as my tolerance for carbohydrate seems to be about 25 grams a day. After a year of following it religiously I substituted my bacon and eggs breakfast to a carbo-rich muesli (at my Doctor's advice) and was pleased to find that it didn't affect the weight loss. I have also kept up a regular exercise routine...

HOLLIS, MAINE - On a winding country road in the middle of nowhere, a building that once housed an antique shop now holds groups of women working out. Curves, a no-frills fitness club for women, can be found in the oddest places. Targeting women in small-town America is part of the company's business strategy — and it's working. Curves has grown to more than 8,400 franchises in all 50 states and 28 countries, making it by far the world's No. 1 fitness center in terms of number of clubs. One in every four fitness clubs in the United States is...

"You are now about to enter a world where one man's struggle to reshape the 40 yr old flab back into the 25 yr old stature which once was Rock Steady." Every once and a while I'll read a post where someone comments on their "Protruding Round." Come join me and see what I'm doing to curb the appetiletic proportional intake. "Conservatively." of course! GET FLAT BACK!

The Physics of Gluttony The obesity epidemic has a simple solution. If you want to lose weight, either eat less, or breathe more. By Richard A. Muller November 12, 2004 Physics can sometimes cut through the mess of complex problems with a simple conservation law. A year ago, in my column "The Physics Diet," I applied conservation of energy to the problem of obesity. I argued that exercise burns so few calories that it cannot be a major way of losing weight. But many people I have spoken to believe there is another benefit to exercise: it changes your metabolism....

An experimental wonder drug, Rimonabant, helps you lose weight, quit smoking and it also helps protect your heart. Trials have shown that 33% of people on Rimonabant lost 10% of body weight and kept their weight down for two years - this is a record, no other diet drug has managed to keep a person's weight down for so long. The second 33% lost 5% of body weight and kept it down. As well as keeping you lean, the drug also helps you quit the smoking habit. This will be of great interest for many smokers who are afraid to...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government filed six lawsuits against companies it said had promised weight-loss regimens that were too good to be true, and it pressed the publications that advertised the programs to identify and reject them instead. It was the first time the Federal Trade Commission had paired a court complaint about weight-loss products with letters to media outlets, FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said Tuesday. For now, the agency is not seeking to punish those news outlets, she added. "We are having success, a great deal of success, with media companies in educating them about these media ads,"...

Diets may do more damage than good.Oct. 14 2004By, Carlo J. MorelliFor the vast majority of people in this country, traditional weight loss remedies have only added to the crisis of overweight. The utter failure of most dieting schemes has only exacerbated the problem and furthered the decline of the physical, and emotional well being of the suffering majority. After a lifetime as a Master Chef and nutritionist, I have concluded that most diets can assist in taking weight off. For the vast majority of overweight folks, however, the benefits are only temporary at best, and a cruel hoax at...

There are many FREEPERS, I am quite certain, that have given up on the idea they can get their weight under control. At the same time, a core group of Freepers MUST be out there that at one time had a weight problem, but somehow achieved a weight loss to an appropriate weight ... and kept it there. This forum has been one of the most beneficial expeditures of time I have ever experienced. There are many things I've noticed where FREEPERS help each other out and my hope this can be the case with this as well. To those...

Does anybody know if CortiSlim works? I have been on a regular excercise regime for about 3 months. I do 1/2 hour of semi-intense treadmill 4 or 5 mornings a week. I am averaging 1200 calories a day, all in proportion to the USRDA (as a measure -- I know some people disagree with the USRDA but my point is low on carbs and generally not strange in any direction). But I have not lost any appreciable weight. If I look at the high/low chart the trend puts me down about maybe 2 pounds. I keep seeing and hearing the...

In one of the most reactionary moves in recent memory, the Federal government early this year instituted a ban on all sales of the wildly popular diet product ephedra. A smattering of high profile deaths from people who should not have been using ephedra, but nonetheless did, drove a campaign to have the product taken off the market. Not one to think anecdotes are a good substitute for science and empirical data, I don't believe there was any justification in taking ephedra off the market. I still believe the ban ought to be revisited and overturned. Nonetheless, the aftermath of...

The manufacturer of a popular diet supplement containing ephedra urged a judge to block a nationwide ban on the herbal stimulant that was taking effect Monday, arguing that there is no proof it is dangerous if used properly. The herbal stimulant, once hugely popular for weight loss and bodybuilding, has been linked to 155 deaths and dozens more heart attacks and strokes. In a lawsuit filed last month, lawyers for NVE Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Newton, manufacturer of the supplement Stacker 2, asked for a temporary restraining order blocking the ban on ephedra pending further scientific tests. U.S. District Judge Joel...